Hamilton stripped of Australian GP points

World driving champion Lewis Hamilton on Thursday was stripped of
third-place points from the Australian Grand Prix for giving officials
"deliberately misleading information" about a passing incident involving
Jarno Trulli of Toyota. The youngest...

World driving champion Lewis Hamilton on Thursday was stripped of
third-place points from the Australian Grand Prix for giving officials
"deliberately misleading information" about a passing incident involving
Jarno Trulli of Toyota. The youngest world champion faces suspension or
exclusion from the Formula One championship if International Automobile
Federation (FIA) officials deem further action is warranted.

Lewis Hamilton.

Photo by xpb.cc.

Stewards in Malaysia for this weekend's race examined what they called
"new information" about Trulli passing Hamilton during a safety-car
period under which the race ended. The safety car had been called after
third and fourth runners Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and Robert Kubica
of BMW Sauber crashed into each other with three laps to go.

The stewards' decision to give Trulli a 25-second time penalty -- in
lieu of an unservable drive-through penalty -- was made in the hour
after the race and did not include video of Trulli's actions or audio
of Hamilton's radio conversations with his pit. An FIA statement said
reopening the matter in Malaysia was the direct result of Hamilton
telling reporters he had been told to let Trulli pass, and the radio
exchange that included two specific orders by the McLaren team for
Hamilton to let Trulli pass.

Officials in Australia had asked Hamilton and team manager Dave Ryan
if Hamilton had been told to let Trulli pass and both said no. An FIA
statement about Thursday's decision said the race director in Australia
had asked Hamilton specifically whether he had consciously allowed
Trulli to overtake and Hamilton had insisted he had not done so.

Stewards at the Sepang International Circuit issued a statement reading:
"The stewards having considered the new elements presented to them from
the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix, consider that driver No 1
Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes acted in a
manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence
deliberately misleading to the stewards at the hearing on Sunday, 29th
March 2009, a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.

"Under Article 158 of the International Sporting Code, the driver No 1
Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes are excluded
from the race classification for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix and the
classification is amended accordingly."

Hamilton passed Trulli when the Italian went off course and Hamilton
told his team that he held third place by right. He was told to let
Trulli through and that the team would check with race director Charlie
Whiting. Officials were occupied and did not respond to McLaren
questions before the race ended.

Hamilton, summoned to speak to officials in Malaysia, would not comment
at the FIA news conference at the Sepang course despite being asked
three questions on the topic by Italian journalists. "Well, all I can
really say is that they are obviously trying to resolve the situation
and looking into more detail whether the penalty for Jarno was fair, and
that's all I can really say," Hamilton said. He gave two similar answers
when pressed, saying comment would be improper.

A McLaren team statement said, "The team mistakenly believed that the
radio transmission had been reviewed by the FIA on Sunday, 29th March
2009, and consequently did not believe it was necessary to discuss them
with the stewards on that date.

"Nonetheless, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team now regrets that it did
not do so, accepts the stewards' decision, and will not appeal."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh called the stewards' decision
disappointing and harsh.

An FIA spokesman said further action had not been ruled out. McLaren
Mercedes were stripped of all points in 2007 after the team was found in
possession of hundreds of pages of Ferrari documents.

Jarno Trulli.

Photo by xpb.cc.

Trulli, whose team only a day before chose not to appeal his time penalty on
grounds that FIA decisions are rarely revisited, reacted happily.

"I am happy for myself and the team, and I have to thank the FIA because
it does not happen very often they reconsider something," Trulli said.
"It must have been really hard for them, but they had common sense to
really try and understand what was going on. I have always been honest,
and it has paid off. It was a controversial end of the race and it was
hard for anyone to understand, but I never lied. I was honest in my
statement and I never changed it."

Transcript of the radio transmission between Lewis Hamilton and his team:

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Team:
OK Lewis, you should need to make sure your delta is positive over
the safety car line. After the safety car line the delta doesn't matter
but no overtaking. No overtaking.

Lewis Hamilton:
The Toyota went off in a line at the second to last
corner ... is this OK?

Team:
Understood, Lewis. We'll confirm and get back to you.

LH:
He was off the track. He went wide.

Team:
Lewis, you need to allow the Toyota through. Allow the Toyota
through now.

LH:
OK.

LH:
He's slowed right down in front of me.

Team:
OK, Lewis. Stay ahead for the time being. Stay ahead. We will get
back to you. We are talking to Charlie.

Team:
I understand, Lewis. We are checking. Now can we go to yellow G 5,
yellow Golf 5.

LH:
I don't have to let him past then I should be able to take that
position back, if he made a mistake.

Team:
Yes, we understand, Lewis. Let's just do it by the book. We are
asking Charlie now. You are in P4. If you hold this position. Just keep
it together.

Team:
OK, Lewis, your KERS is full, your KERS is full. Just be aware.
You can go back to black F2, black Foxtrott 2.

LH:
Any news from Charlie whether I can take it back or not.

Team:
Still waiting on a response, Lewis, still waiting.

Team:
Lewis, work on your brakes please, work on you brakes. Front
brakes are cold.

Team:
Lewis, if we are able to use one KERS that would be good. If you
deploy KERS, please do so now.

Team:
OK, Lewis, this is the last lap of the race. At the end of the
lap, the safety car will come in, you just proceed over the line without
overtaking, without overtaking. We are looking into the Trulli thing but
just hold position.